Found the key protein responsible for excess weight
(ORDO NEWS) — Scientists have discovered a protein associated with various types of cancer and playing a role in weight gain. Its further study may help in the treatment of metabolic disorders.
Metabolic disorders spoil the lives of millions of people and shorten their lifespan. Protein discovered by researchers could help cure them
Scientists at Yale University have been investigating how a protein called augmentor alfa (alpha stimulator) promotes cancer in humans.
This protein is known to bind to the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) receptor, which mutates and causes several different cancers. In an attempt to find out more, the researchers tried to determine where this protein is most abundant.
Experimenting with mice, the scientists found that augmentor-alpha is most strongly expressed in a region of the brain called the hypothalamus, which plays an important role in many important functions, including temperature regulation, stress response, and metabolism.
The authors of the work found that augmentor-alpha is expressed at high levels in neurons that are responsible for the feeling of hunger.
How protein can help you lose weight
Having discovered this, the scientists again turned to mice to investigate the relationship between augmentor-alpha and metabolism, and found that putting the rodents on a starvation diet increased protein expression in the “hunger neurons.”
They then studied mice genetically completely deficient of this protein and found that they were smaller and more physically active than normal mice, regardless of whether they ate a fatty or healthy diet.
During fasting, these protein-free mice were still very active. This is contrary to what scientists commonly observe during fasting, when animals tend to limit their activity to conserve energy.
This suggests that Augmentor Alpha is responsible for some important signals in the context of metabolic function.
All this means that the impact on augmentor-alpha can allow the treatment of metabolic disorders. The most interesting thing is that drugs that block it already exist and are used to treat other diseases. Now they can be repurposed to treat people with metabolic disorders.
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